Post Truth Trash: the best body balm in the world and other lies.

Every body needs a little care. Even the aging, much abused but still serviceable body of a grafting criminal barrister. I may be growing cranky and cynical with age but I am not totally without optimism. Even I want and hope to have aches soothed, pains reduced and broken bits fixed. So it was with some excitement that I viewed the array of promising personal items in my hotel room during my latest work trip.

Black tubes, longer than most, was an encouraging sign.

Stylish black tubes, longer than most, was an encouraging first sign. According to the blurb printed in white along their length, this collection of body products was officially amazing. Today I tried them all. This morning after my first jolt of coffee, instead of reading and re-reading briefs, I used those hopefully remarkable fluids and lotions. They promised to make me feel good and absolutely unstoppable in court and elsewhere. Today I would shine, which is good, because lately I’ve emitted nothing but a dull glow. The Urban Skincare Co’s range of body products would change that. How did it go? Read on.

The World's First Selfie: how I invented the toss-shot and what came next.

A typical early 'toss shot'.

It is 32 years since I invented the selfie. Little did I know how the technique would sweep the globe. How today, everyone has held out an arm to snap a shot of themselves, sometimes even wearing clothes. How with a click of the finger it’s possible to record yourself with friends, politicians, sportsman, actors, animals and food. How the crude selfie-stick I made decades ago has developed into the slickest, most high tech lengths of composite in the world. How the world’s first go-pro that I fashioned with VHS and string has become small, robust and waterproof.

Thirty-two years. If it were a marriage it would be the diamond anniversary plus two. So it seems fitting to record how it all began. In this piece I'll reveal the story of the selfie's creation. Next week I'll write about how far the selfie has come and how a remote village in South America is challenging the world to return to the selfie's simple beginnings.

Can Thai Massage Kill You?

The answer to this question is important to any busy professional exploring ways to relax. All professionals need some down time. Trial lawyers, like astronauts and brain surgeons are no exception.

Trials are stressful; tough work at the very coalface of justice. To do well lawyers must master facts and law, conference witnesses, prepare cross-examinations and rehearse opening and closing addresses. Even slack lawyers who dispense with such trifles find trials stressful.

Trial lawyers handle stress in different ways. I know one barrister who starts each trial day by pulling cows' teats and ends them by strangling chickens and pulling more teats. Another liked to commence his marathon trials with separation or divorce; 'decluttering' he called it.

But what if you don't own a hobby farm and aren't inclined to dismantle your domestic life?